Successful Post-Merger Integration at Sachtleben

Sachtleben GmbH

Objectives of the project

The Sachtleben Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of specialty white pigments and functional additives based on titanium dioxide and zinc/barium. It focuses its sales efforts on niche segments in the global markets for fibers, coatings, plastics, printing inks, pharmaceutical products and food.

In 2013, Sachtleben generated a turnover of 800 million Euros. The group has production facilities located in Duisburg, Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany and Pori in Finland. The group employs approximately 2,200 people and is a subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, Inc., based in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Responding to increased market demand for specialty white pigments and functional additives, Sachtleben took over Crenox GmbH in July 2012. Crenox was a competitor based in Krefeld-Uerdingen that went into receivership. This move secured additional production capacity and established the basis for further growth as well as greater efficiency thanks to economies of scale in production and administration.

To ensure the fast and smooth transition of business operations after the acquisition, Sachtleben immediately began to integrate processes and IT systems at the new location in Uerdingen using interim solutions as a first step. However, an integration project was needed to optimize management of the entire factory network of the Sachtleben Group across its various locations with the dual aim of harmonizing operational processes and fully integrating the Uerdingen plant into the Sachtleben environment in terms of organization and systems.

What BearingPoint did

The integration measures for the Sachtleben project covered numerous areas of activity including:

standardization of different master data structures

adaptation of the IT system structures and organization

harmonization of procedures in procurement, logistics, production and credit control.

The work of BearingPoint was very constructive, focusing on time and success. At the end of the day, this led to compliance with the specified deadlines and budgets.

Dr. Andreas Grünewald, CFO, Sachtleben GmbH

Key success factors

Our project successfully integrated the new company, on time and to budget with client satisfaction:

‘A project must be carried out within the given framework, but first and foremost it must adhere to the specified budget and time frame. We succeeded on both fronts with the support of BearingPoint.’
Dr. Andreas Grünewald, CFO, Sachtleben GmbH

Measurable & concrete results

Working with BearingPoint, Sachtleben managed to achieve the ambitious aims of the project over a period of ten months. The project was based on the key principles of successful post-merger integration: centralization and consolidation, standardization, and increased transparency and efficiency.

Data for both separate business entities have been harmonized, and IT systems and organizational units have been consolidated and centralized. Production planning and control are more transparent thanks to SAP® systems. Purchasing, logistics and credit control have been rendered more efficient, and this has laid the foundation for reduced costs in procurement, production and storage.

Sachtleben can now benefit from new economies of scale in a larger market and with an improved company infrastructure.